Temperature control device



Patented oci. 1s, 1934 PATENT OFFICE TEMPERATURE CONTROL DEVICE Samuel Elkin, Roxbury, Mass., assigner to Edison General Electric Appliance Company, Incorporated, i' Chicago, IIL, York a corporation oi.' New Application July v, im. seri.: No. maar .iz chum; (crm-assi My mvention relates to temperature control' devices, more particularly to devices for controllingan electric circuit in accordance with temperature changes, and has for its object the provision'gof an improved device oijthischaracter.' v

ture responsive devices such as describedv and Vclaimed in United States' reissue patent to A. :'Iiewerenz, No. 16,654, datedV June 14, 1927, and in United Statesl patent to 'A. H. Simmons, No. l1,743,073, dated January 1, 1930Whichv is' an improvement o! the Lewerenz' device. More Y specifically, my invention relates to improvements in one form of temperature control device described and'claimed in a co-pending application of Francis H. McCormick, Serial No.

575,593, tiled November 17, 1931, and assignedf:

to the 'same assignee as this invention. The temperature. control devicesdisclosed inthese *patents and in lthis application comprise a bimetallic thermostat bar fixed at one end and having its other end free to move in `response to changes in temperature; These movements of the bimetallic bar are utilized to control a switch arm or other suitable control member.

Bearing on the movable end of the blmetallic bar is an elastic member arranged to cause the' bar to move quickly from one position to another and 'thereby give the switch a snap action in opening and closing the circuit which it controls.

My invention contemplates a new organization in a control device of the type including the provision ci improved means for adjusting the temperature setting by adjusting the position of the elastic member which bears on the movable end of the bimetallic bar. One means for eiiecting this adjustment is described and claimed in the above-mentioned McCormick patent application. My invention is in the nature oi an improvement of lthe adjusting means disclosed in the McCormick application, and I, therefore, do not Aherein claim anything shown or described in the said McCormick application.

In accordance with my invention, the elastic member which bears on the thermostat bar to cause it to move quickly from one position to another is supported by a resilient member which by reason of its elasticity normally tends to move the elastic member ina predetermined direction, preierablyin the' plane of movement of the' bimetallc bar. Movement :of theresilient member is controlled by means` oi a stop which is adjustable'so that the temperature `setting oi the thermostat can be adjusted. In general, my invention relates to tempera- For aA more complete` understanding 'of' my invention, reference should be the 'accompanying drawing in which Eig. l1"" islat vertical sectional view of an "electric ilatiron'provided with a temperature control device; embodying my invention; and Fig. Zis' sfperspectivi"viewL of s.v portion of the atironof f Referringto the drawing, A,I have invention in one form as appliedjto an electric iiatiron comprising a comparatively 4heavybody member 10 made of aisuitable heat conducting material, such as castniron, and within which islfcast a suitable electric heatingr unit 11; As

shown,l vthe upper portion of the `body member 19 is enclosed by a cover 12 normally resting on 'a shmsder 10a' provided for it in the' body memlber 10, the cover member l2 being suitablyse-'f cured to the body member 10 by means of screws (not shown).

Attached to the cover oil the iron 12 is a suitable handle 13 which may be grasped by the attendant to operate the iron. n

In the upper portion of the body member l0 is a recess 14 in which isA secured a temperature responsive control device for the heating element 11 arranged in accordance. with my invention. The temperature control device. comprises a suitable thermostat, shown as a bimetallic bar 15 made of two strips of metal having dissimilar temperature coefcients of expansion, such as brass and steel, the strips being securely brazed or Welded together lengthwise.

The thermostat bai' 15 is rigidly secured at one end to a portion 16a of a frame 16, which portion extends transversely of the recess 14, as clearly shown in the drawing. The thermostat bar may be, and as shown, is 'secured to the frame portion 16a by means of a clamping member 1"?v passed through apertures 15a and 1Gb provided for it in the thermostat and in the frame portion 16a respectively. It will be observed that the thermostat bar is supported Within the lower portion of the recess 14 in close thermal relation with the working surface of 4 the iron.

It will also be observed that the unsecured .end of the thermostat can move freely in response to changes in temperature. This movable end of the thermostat bar is provided with a knife edge bearing 18, which rests in a wing seat 19 provided for it in lone, arm of an iriferted' U-shaped resilient member or spring 20. 'Ihe other arm of this spring member is prolvided with a seat 21 which rests on a knife edge bearing 22. The seatsfor the knife edge bearing 18'and 22 may be and as shown are pro- 5 vided by striking V-shaped indentations in the ends of the two arms of the spring member 20,

,A as clearly shown in the drawing.

The knife edge bearing 22 is supported by -a resilient member 23. 'Ihis member, as shown, is rectangular in shape, having two parallel side portions 23a joined by a pair ofend portions 23b and. 23e. 'I'he bearing support 234s supported substantially in the, general plane containing the thermostatvbar V,15 by means of the frame portion 16a.V As'shown, the right-hand end portion 23e of the member 23, as viewed in j thefigures,- is sandwiched Ibetween the therfor them in the frame.'4 The member 23 is elec- .ing members 17 and 24. vided in the frame portion 16a to receive the trically insulated from the frame 16 by an insulating sheet 26 formed from a suitable electrically insulating material, such as mica. Ar-

ranged on the upper surface of the frame porclamping members 17 and 24 are enlarged somewhat so that these members are electrically insulated from the frame 16. e

' The. rectangular resilient member 23,- as shown, substantially embraces the thermostat oar 15, the side portions 23a of the member` being spaced laterally from the corresponding edges of the bar, andthe end portion 23h of the member being spaced a suilicient distance froml the free end of the thermostat to accommodate the U-shaped spring member 20.

The bearing 22 provided on the end portion 23h supporting the spring 20 is bent or other wise' formedto incline` downwardly from the body of the member, as clearly shown in the drawing.-

The-resilient member 23 is arranged to bias the free end portion 23h upwardly'in the plane vided for it in a portion 16e of the frame 16 extending transversely of the recess 14. The frame insert is provided with aplurality of spaced ribs 34 projecting inwardly from the wana desumev the aperture 3 3 and received in spaced recesses 35 provided for them in the insert 32. ribs function to support both the insert 32l and the adjustable stop 30 threaded in the insert.

The stop 30 is -adjusted by means of a knob or handle 36 which is shown as accessible at the exterior of the iron. The knob 36 is secured to and has va driving connection with a cylindrical member 37 which in turn has a driving lconnection with the adjusting screw or member 30. The member 37 is provided with a flange 38 which rests on the top surface of the iron cover 12. The'outer walls of the cylindrical member 37 above the flange are knurled, as

shown. and with this. knurled portion the knob 36 has a driving fit. The lower portion of this cylindrical member 37 projects through the cover. This protrudingportion is secured to the inner surface of the cover 12 by means of av washer 40. This washer as shown has a conical shape;thebaseofthewasherissecuredtothe 42 which is. arranged tobe received in channelsl 43 provided in the upper portion of the cylindrical member 37, that is. in the portion which projects from the cover 12, 'whereby a driving connection is effected between the handle 36 andtherod30.. l v 4 The bearing 22 carried by the resilient mein` ber 23 lies in the plane of movement of the bimetallic bar 15 in such a position that at a predetermined temperature the knife edge bearing 18 of the bar 15 will lie in a line passing through the bearing 22 to the point of support of the bar 15. This is the neutral position of the thermostat bar.

Itwillbeobs'ervedthatthearmsoftheresilient ,spring member 20 tend to separate by reason of the resiliency of the'member, these arms being compressed between the bearings 18 and 22, whereby the member 20 exerts a force on the movable end of the thermostat, which force tends to hold kthe movable end on one s ide or the other of the neutral position. Obvi. ously in the neutral position, the entire force exerted by the vspring member is in the direction of the point Aof support of the thermostat. In other words, the force exerted by the spring member in the neutral position is lengthwise of the thermostat, the lateral component of this force being zero. However, when the thermostat tion. a lateral component of this spring pressure is produced tending to force the thermostat away from the neutral position. This action oi' the spring member 20 causes the thermostat bar 15 to move quickly with a snap action to its positions on opposite sides of the neutral position.

The electrical circuit for the heatingelement 11 of the iron includes the thermostat bar 15. As shown, the thermostat bar carries at its free end a suitable switch contact 45 that cooperates Amoves from the neutral position in either direcwith an adjustable ilxed 'contact member 46. which iselectrically connected by means of a lead member 47 with the one of the terminals 46 oi the heating element 11. The opposite -lg terminal (not shown) of ,this heating element nections the thermostat bar is connected in series with the heating circuit of the iron 10.

The ixed contact 46 is supported by means of the resilient member 23. Y tact 46 is threaded through a suitable collar 5,5 which is supported by means oi a suitable plate 56 extending transversely ofy the iron and supported at its opposite ends by means of a pair of clamps 57 secured to and depending from the side portions 23a of the resilient member. The plate 56 is formed from some suitable electrically insulating material. such as mica, and hence the `ilxed contact 46 is electrically insulated from its supporting structure. The

member is provided at its upper and Alowerv ends with head portions 56 which clamp the lead member 47 and the insulating sheet 56 between them. Prata-ably a washer 60 will be interposed between the 4upper head and the member 56.

The resilient member 23 also serves to support a suitable stop member 61 for the thermostatic blade when it is in its open circuit position. As shown, this stop comprises a stud-like member threaded in a bridge or supporting member 62 which extends transversely across the thermostatic blade and is secured at its opposite ends to the side portions 23a ot the member 23 by means of the clamping members 57. It will be observed that the stop member 61 is adjustable inits. supporting bridge y62.

v While the frame 16 may be formed integrally with the body l0 of the iron, it is preferable that this member be formed as a separate member so that the frame, together with the elements constituting the. control device and supported by the frame, can be removed as a unitary structure. The detachable frame may be secured to the body 10 by4 means oi studs threaded on the body, the heads 63 of these studs overlappingthe adjacent edges of the i'rame.

In the operation oi my temperature control device, it will be understood that the movable contact 45 will be held downward by the spring 20 to maintain the heating circuit of the iron closed as long as the temperature is below a predetermined maximum value. Under these conditions, the movable end of the thermostat is situated below the neutral position. As the temperature increases, the distortion of the thermostat tends to move its free end upward,

but this movement is resisted by the resilient member 20. Upon the occurrence oi the predetermined maximum temperature, however, the thermostat has sufilcient force to overcome the spring 20 and starts to move upward. As the thermostat moves upward, the opposing force exerted by the spring 20 decreases, since the spring '20 exerts its force more nearly in the direction of the line of support of the thermostat. The thermostat 15, therefore,`rapidly accelerates and moves at a high speed through As shown, the conthe neutral position to the opposite sidethereof,

'where' it is urged rapidly upwardly bythe increasing llateral component of the force applied by the spring`20. The heating circuit is thus quickly opened, the movable contact 45 being thrown upward with a snap action to its open circuit position. When the thermostat is in. its open circuit position, lthe movable contact 45 comes to rest against the stop 61. Alter the heating circuit has been opened and the temperature of the iron-and consequently that of the thermostat begins to decrease, the distortion of the thermostat tends to move` it back to its closed circuit position, but this movement is opposed by the force exerted by the spring member 20, this force being overcome at some predetermined minimum temperature when the thermostat 15 will snap to its closed circuit position. In this manner,"the heating circuit is controlled so as to maintain ak predetermined temperature which is a meanbetween the maximum and minimum temperatures I or which the device is set to operate.

The device can be set to maintain a desires!4 predetermined temperature by means of the adjustment rod 30. It will be observed that when the knob 36 is rotated, the position oi. the

spring member` 23 and hence the position ot the v knife edge bearing 22 is changed. This obviously changes the position of the neutral line which passes between'the knife edge bearing 22 and the point of support of the nxed endof the bimetallic bar l5. It will be obvious that by changing the position of this neutral line, the temperature at which the thermostat will snapv from one position to the other will be changed, andv consequently, the temperature setting oi.' the iron will be changed. To set the device to maintain a higher temperature, the knob 36 will be turned so as to" move the knife edge support 20 downwardly, as viewed in the figure. Adjustment of the knob in the opposite direction will decrease thetemperature that will be maintained by the thermostat.

Although any suitable heating unit 1l may be used, preferably a heating unit will be used of the -type described and claimed in United States Patent No. 1,367,341 to C. C. Abbott, dated February l, 1921. Briey, this unit comprises an outer metallic sheath 70, suitably shaped,

in which a helical heating resistor 7l is embedded in a powdered heat refractory insulating material 72. The heating unit 1l is shaped roughly in the form oi a horseshoe, its terminals brought out at the rear of the iron as shown.

It will be observed that I have provided a temperature control device which is extremely simple, inexpensive and rugged in its construction. Moreover, it is quite convenient and easy to operate the thermostat. To adjust its vtemperature setting it is merely necessary to move the control knob 36 which adjusts the position of the bearing 22 for the spring member 20.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto since many modiiications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States. is-

l. A temperature control device comprising to 'move quickly from one position to another, a

' for said elastic member, a resilient mem- ,brbiasing said Ibearing in one direction in the f A:lpla'n'e of movementV of said thermostat and means for changing the positionot said resilient member so as to adjust the temperature setting Vofisai'd 4devicelto maintain a preselected tempera- -ettuz 2; A temperature vcontrol device comprising a thermostat, an elastic member bearing on said thermostat arranged to cause said thermostat to move quickly from one position to another, a

' f, bearingfor said elastic member, a resilient meni-A 13'"A supporting said bearing and means for adjusting the position of said resilient member, in the plane of movement of said thermostat so as to vary the temperature setting of said device to maintain a preselected temperature.

20'?` 3. A Vtemperature control device comprising a thermostat bar having one end iixed and its other end free to move in response to changes in temperature, an elastic member having one end j bearing on the movable end`oi said bar and mov- 25A able with said bar in the plane of movement thereof,'so as to cause-said bar to move quickly` {ramone-position to another, a resilient support fortheotherend ci said elastic member tending toimove saidfend in a predetermined direcltead--tidn in' the plane oi movement of said bar and 'adjustable stop member for vsaid resilient member for adjusting itsposition so as to change the'temperature vsetting oi said device to mainapredetermined :temperature g bimetallic'the'rmostat'bar having one end free to move in response to changes in temperature,

a resilient member having a portion thereof adjacent said free end. said member -by reason of 40 its elasticity tending to bias said portion in ai 4predetermined direction inthe plane o! movement of said thermostat bar, an elastic member having vone Vend supported by said portion of -..said resilient member adjacent the free end of said bar and its other end bearing on said iree end so that said elastic member moves with said free end in the plane o! movement o! said bar and an adjustable member cooperating with said portion oi said resilient member adjacent said `free end or said thermostat bar to change its position in the plane of movement of said bar and thereby the position of said elastic member in said plane of' movement so as to adjust the temperature setting of said control device to mainis!" tain a selected temperature.

5. A temperature control device comprising a body member, a bimetallie thermostat bar having `one end nxed to said body member and w having its other end free to move in response to changes in temperature, a resilient member having resilient portions on opposite sides of said bar secured to said body member adjacent the secured end of said thermostat bar, said portions tending to move in a predetermined direc- ,65: tion, 'and a third portion connecting the other ends of said mst-mentioned portions, said third portion having a bearing seat adjacent said movable end of said thermostat bar, a spring indsfterposed between said third portion and said free end, said spring resting on said bearing seat and said tree end so as to exert a force on. said iree end tending to retard the initial movement ,or said bar from one position to another and gsi-,thereafter to quickly move-said bar to said other its other end free to move in response to tem- 4. A temperature control device'compr Tlv aj'V n ilrstU-shaped member and the free end of said v 1,978,8451 sons to .cause said thermostat position, an adjustable stop'member bearing on said third portion and means for adjusting the position of said stop.

6. A temperature control device comprising a thermostat, a bearing, a U-shaped spring member having one arm seated on. said bearing and its other arm seated on said thermostat so as to cause said thermostat to move quickly from one position'to another, resilient arms supporting said bearing and tending to move it so as to change the vtemperature setting of said thermo stat, and an adjustable stop for said bearing.

7. A temperature control device comprising a thermostat bar having one end iixed and its other 'end tree to move in response to changes in temperature, a resilient member in substantially the plane of said bar and* embracing said bar, said resilient member tending to move in one direction in the plane of movement o! said bar, an elastic member bearing on a portion of said resilient member and on the free end of said bar so as to cause said bar to move quickly from one position to another, a stop member forsaid vresilient-member to prevent its movement by its bias in` said one direction and means for adjusting position of said stop to change the setting of said thermostat.

8. A temperature control device comprising a thermostat bar having one of its ends fixed and 105,

perature changes, a resilient vmember having a U-shaped portion embracing said bar and tending to move in one direction in the planeo! .,movement of said bar and a U-shapedvelastic member interposed between the base of said ,thermostat bar.

il.v A temperature control device comprising a body member, a thermostat bar having one end ilxed to said body member and its other end i'ree to move in response to changes in temperature, a substantially rectangular resilient member embracing said bar and having its end adjacent the fixed end of said bar secured to said body member and its other end free to move in the plane of movement of said bar, said resilient member tending to move its free end in a predetermined direction in said plane of movement, and a substantially U-shaped spring member having its arms bearing on the free ends of said resilient member andvsaid thermostat bar respectively andY means foi-'adjusting the position of said resilient member.

10. A temperature control device comprising a substantially rectangular resilient member having `one end xed and its other end free to move in a direction at right angles to the general plane oi' said member, a thermostat bar embraced by said rectangular member and havlng one end secured at the fixed end of said resilient member and its other end free to move in the plane or movement of said resilient member in response to temperature changes, a spring having one end bearing on the free end of said resilient member and its other end bearing on the tree end of said thermostat bar, means for adjusting the position of the free end of said resilient member, means arranged to connect the iiired end of said thermostat bar to the circuit to be controlled, a contact carried by the free end or said bar, a iixed contact carried by said resilient member cooperating with said contact and means arranged to connect said fixed contact in said circuit.

11. A temperature control device comprising a thermostat, an elastic member bearing on said thermostat arranged to cause it to move quickly 4 from one position to another, a bearing for said elastic'memben a resilient member supporting said bearing, means for adjusting the position of said resilient member so as to vary the temperature setting ot said device to maintain a preselected. temperature, aV switch contact carried by said thermostat and .a cooperating switch contact carried by said vresilient member. 12. A temperature control device comprising 

